Trax
by captainjeff
Summary: In the year 2463, the crew of the Starship Trax head out to break the transwarp threshold (I've only uploaded the first two chapters so far. More coming soon).
1. The Ceremony

Admiral Regoso stepped forward and approached the podium. The entire room was silent. All that could be heard was the Admiral's soft breathing into the voice amplifier.  
  
"Four hundred years ago today, the warp barrier was broken. This event was a crucial breakthrough for humans in space exploration. It allowed us to meet and interact with other species, and later to colonize entire planets. Zefram Cochrane was the name of the man who made this incredible breakthrough, and he will be remembered always in Earth's history. But today is not about history." He paused. Not a word was said among anyone in the room.  
  
Everyone's eyes were focused on Admiral Regoso. The admirals sitting behind him were also completely focused. The Admiral reached for his glass of water and took a sip. He took a breath, and continued. "Today is about the present, and the future. Starfleet has made it our goal to have this proceeding on the anniversary of the first warp flight. There is a reason for that as well, and I will get to that. But first, I would like you all to give your complete attention to my son: Captain Scott Regoso.  
  
The room suddenly was filled with the sound of clapping from over three hundred people. "The date of April 4th, 2063 was no doubt one of the most important events in Earth's history. As you all know, we intend to make this day important as well. That is true. Before that happens though, I would like to recall some important events in Earth's history. Now I have noticed that every century, during the seventh decade, and important event in space exploration occurred. Starting on July 16th, 1969, when Neil Armstrong was the human to set foot on our moon. As we have discussed, the following century on April 4th, 2063, Zefram Cochrane was the first human to travel faster than the speed of light. Ninety-eight years after that, in the year 2161, many groups of explorers, including Starfleet came together to form the United Federation of Planets. In 2265 the Starship Enterprise set out on it's five year mission under the command on Captain James T. Kirk. Almost exactly one hundred years following that event, in 2364, the Enterprise's successor, the Enterprise -D, set out under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard. Now, on April 4th, 2463, we plan to break a new threshold. And to break that threshold, we will need a ship." Captain Regoso turned around to face the space windows, showing the other half of the space station orbiting Earth. "Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, the U.S.S. Trax."  
  
Slowly but surely, the tip of a ship could be seen by everyone in the room. Soon to be followed by half of it. Eventually, the entire ship could be seen by everyone in the room.  
  
The room exploded with applause. On one half of the room was the crew of the Starship Trax, approximately two hundred eighty-seven officers. On the other half was other Starfleet officers that wanted to attend, as well as members of other species, also eager to attend. Behind the Captain were several dozen admirals including his father, all sitting in chairs in a line.  
  
The applause died down, and the Captain spoke. "The Trax is an experimental ship with the most advanced technology in Starfleet, and possibly the Federation. It is equipped with twenty-one phaser banks, as well as thirty-two quantum torpedoes, twenty-seven transphasic torpedoes, and a newly developed technology known as temporal torpedoes, which are designed to phase in and out of our space-time continuum, making it easier to penetrate enemies' shields. Hopefully though, they won't be necessary. The ship has full hull armour plating, twenty times more powerful then the shields of a normal starship, and is equipped with multi-vector assault mode. As for speed, it has full thrusters impulse drive, and a top speed of Warp 9.99. Now once again, turn your attention to my father, Admiral Regoso."  
  
Captain Regoso stepped aside, and motioned for his father to take his place. He did, and the floor was his. "Thank you son," he started. "Captain Regoso will be commanding the Starship Trax along with his first officer: Commander Malcolm Sager. This starship is no ordinary starship though. It is equipped with the first, stable transwarp drive in the Federation. There are some people that believe that transwarp is similar to travelling beyond Warp 10. That is not true at all. It is a near fact, that achieving a speed of Warp 10 is impossible, with one minor exception, which resulted in severe consequences. Transwarp is a speed that is used to travel great distances by using subspace tunnels. Travelling through these tunnels results in a great deal of tachyon resistance, but the transwarp drive emits anti-tachyon pulses using a modified amount of trilithium, and warp particles. That's why a ship must be at warp to attain transwarp. Our plan is to break the transwarp barrier exactly four hundred years after Zefram Cochrane broke the warp barrier, down to the nearest minute. That leaves us approximately ten hours to stay on schedule. I believe we are finished here. The crew of the Trax will be transferred onto their ship, while several other officers and I will head down to the bridge of the station to monitor the ship. Dismissed."  
  
The admiral turned around and headed toward the door. The admirals stood up and followed him. It was respectful to wait until the admirals leave until everyone else was allowed to stand up.  
  
When the last admiral left the room, everyone quietly stood up and headed to where they were supposed to be. The crew of the Trax mostly took the turbo lift, but others went another way. Everyone had to be on board by 0300 hours, which left about an hour and a half.  
  
"Captain!" a voice called over the sound of many people talking amongst themselves.  
  
Scott Regoso looked around. After all, he was the only captain in the room. "Hey Malcolm, how are you," he asked his first officer.  
  
The two officers had known each other since the academy. Both class of '42. Commander Sager hid his jealousy about Regoso being promoted to captain while he was left as a commander. They served together on the Enterprise -G several years ago as Lieutenant Commanders, both heads of different science departments. On an away mission to Galyos II, Sager transported back to the ship once his task was completed. A fire broke out in the Science Lab on the planet, and Regoso was promoted to Commander and transferred to another ship after he saved the other scientists working there. He was ordered to transport back to the ship by his Captain when the fire broke out, but he refused and went back into the burning structure to save the lives of seven scientists. He was not court martialed, because at the time for some reason the Captain was under the impression the seven scientists had already died when the fire broke out in the first place, which was caused by a small explosion with an experimental compound known as Quolexalene. Ever since then, Regoso was always one rank ahead of his companion. Luckilly though, Admiral Regoso was in charge of the assembling the crew of the Trax, and his son requested that Sager be his first officer.  
  
"I'm fine sir," replied Sager.  
  
"It's okay Malcolm, the mission hasn't started yet. You do have permission to speak freely."  
  
Commander Sager nodded.  
  
There was an awkward pause. They hadn't seen each other since Regoso was transfered from the Enterprise 5 years ago. They had seen each other the day before, but since then the only communication they had was through subspace.  
  
A woman approached the captain. She was wearing a Starfleet uniform, and the pips on her neck indicated she had a rank of Lieutenant Commander. "Captain Regoso, I'm Lieutenant Commander Michelle Tainer. I'm the operations officer on the Trax."  
  
Regoso reached out an shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you Lieutenant. I look forward to working with you."  
  
"As do I sir. I'll see you on the bridge of the Trax."  
  
Regoso nodded, and the Lieutenant walked away.  
  
Captain Regoso started walking, so Commander Sager followed. "How've you been," Sager asked casually. "Are you looking forward to your first assignment as captain?"  
  
Regoso nodded with enthusiasm. "Yes. I'm quite eager to test this new transwarp drive."  
  
"Test?" asked Sager, a hint of fear in his voice. "You mean the transwarp drive has never been tested?"  
  
"Well, not exactly. But dozens and dozens of simulations have been done, and there are no doubts in my mind that this is not going going to work. I have complete confidence and trust in the engineers that designed this transwarp drive. Remember Malcom, Starfleet has been working on this new technology for decades."  
  
There was a pause. The two of them just walked down the corridor, deciding to take the long route to the Trax, and to get a great view of it as well.  
  
"Malcolm?"  
  
His friend was silent for a momment, then spoke. "Oh, sorry. I was just thinking who the chief engineer will be. I haven't seen a crew manifest yet, and I'm not aware of many Starfleet officers that are familiar with this new transwarp technology."  
  
"Well, since you're so curious. Once we arrive on the ship, our first stop will be engineering."  
  
"Thanks." Sager smiled. "You know, over the years you have always done favours for me. Whenever I ask for anything and it's within your capabilities, you always find a way to do it for me. Why is that?"  
  
Captain Regoso chuckled. "It's because one day I know that you will owe me big."  
  
Sager chuckled as well, and the two of them continued walking. 


	2. The Ship And It's Crew

The familiar sound of Starfleet doors opening filled the ears of both Captain Regoso and Commander Sager.  
  
"Deck 7," Regoso spoke out loud.  
  
The computer made a series of beeping sounds, almost as if it were acknowledging the command given, when in fact it was just processing the given data to execute the task. Lights appeared and disappeared in the slits in the turbolift, showing that it was moving.  
  
"Why Deck 7?" Sager asked.  
  
"Engineering is on Deck 7," replied the Captain. "You should become more familiar with the ships schematics." He smiled. "Commander."  
  
Within a minute or so the turbolift doors opened to reveal an unusually large engineering section. There was a lot more that was needed on the Trax than on a typical starship. For one thing more room was needed for the transwarp drive and the dilithium-trilithium conversion units.  
  
The first thing to catch the eye of the Captain and the Commander was the transwarp drive. Neither of them had actually seen the newly developed propulsion system. Only in the ships schematics or on a holodeck. But a holodeck didn't compare to the real thing. There was a certain sensation to being in the same room as a transwarp drive. It was a feeling of power, and confidence.  
  
The transwarp drive was directly in front of the warp core, by about twenty or twenty five metres. It was smaller than the warp drive. Maybe half the size. The casing of the transwarp drive was approximately nine centimetres thick, six centimetres thicker than that of the warp core. No chances were to be taken. A transwarp explosion would be almost a dozen times as powerful as a warp core explosion.  
  
Inside the drive was the transwarp core, which was where the matter and antimatter converged with the modified trilithium to create a stable enough energy source for transwarp. Transwarp had basically the same principals as warp drive. Matter is converged with antimatter to create a great amount of energy, and the dilithium does the rest, in the case of warp. Transwarp requires a much more powerful substance than dilithium. So first the dilithium goes through a process to be converted into trilithium, which has a great deal more power. In fact, trilithium has the power to stop all nuclear fusion within a star. This power is harnessed, and modified so it is stable when mixed with the matter and antimatter. The result: transwarp.  
  
"This is amazing," exclaimed Sager. "I've never seen anything like this before.  
  
The two officers approached the transwarp drive. To the naked eye, the inside of the transwarp drive looked basically the same as the warp core, except the energy conversion process results in a combination of white and blue.  
  
"It sure is a wonderful sight," Regoso agreed. "I'm sure that this new technology will allow us to travel to other galaxies, and gain a greater understanding of the universe."  
  
"I think you're right Scott. After all, about three quarters of our galaxy have already been explored. It's time to move further out like you said. I just hope that other galaxies have less hostile aliens then our galaxy does." There was a pause. Both officers thought for a moment. Obviously they had something on their minds. "That reminds me. Have you heard anything on the situation in the Neutral Zone?"  
  
Commander Sager continued to look around Engineering. Almost ignoring the question. He eventually responded. "No. I thought you would have been briefed on the current situation before I was. After all, you do outrank me."  
  
That made Regoso smile. "That's right. I do." Over the past few years there friendship had developed to a point where they were able to make fun of each other without taking it personally.  
  
"As far as I know the Romulans haven't given us any new information regarding their current predicament with the Klingons. The last I heard the fighting had stopped."  
  
"That's good," Regoso said. "Well, at least the war is over."  
  
His comrade nodded. "Something about the Romulans just bugs me though."  
  
"And why is that?"  
  
"Well, they appear hostile for over two hundred fifty years. Then when the Klingons attack Romulus, they retaliate forcefully. Suddenly the Klingons break off the peace treaty with the Federation, and the Romulans want to talk. A mild two years later, a peace treaty is signed between the Federation and the Romulans. It's almost as if they wanted our friendship because we were no longer on polite terms with the Klingons."  
  
Regoso nodded, but didn't say anything.  
  
They both continued to look around, then Regoso spoke. "Speaking of Romulans."  
  
"What?" Sager was distracted. He was still admiring the advanced technology of this new starship.  
  
A Romulan male walked up to the two gentlemen, wearing a Starfleet uniform. "Captain Regoso I presume." "That's right, and who might you be......... Lieutenant."  
  
"I'm Lieutenant Commander Jarik. I'm the chief engineer of this vessel."  
  
Sager spoke up. "I wasn't aware that there were Romulans in Starfleet."  
  
There was silence for a few seconds. The way that Sager had said that made it almost seem offensive.  
  
"Well, now you are," Lieutenant Commander Jarik replied in the most respectful way he could after what the commander had just said.  
  
Regoso decided to speak, trying to break the obvious friction between the two. "So Lieutenant, are you fully versed on the transwarp drive and it's functions?"  
  
"Yes sir. I have spent many years studying and theorizing about transwarp technology, and I am honoured to be serving on the very first Starfleet vessel equipped with it."  
  
"It's good to have you on board Lieutenant."  
  
Jarik nodded.  
  
"Perhaps one day the Federation will share it's findings with the Romulan Empire," Sager said to Jarik, trying to sound polite. But once again, it didn't come out the way he wanted it to.  
  
Jarik just looked at him. "Perhaps."  
  
Captain Regoso nodded his head as if to say 'carry on' and headed for the turbolift. The Commander followed.  
  
"Interesting fellow," Sager said as the turbolift doors opened.  
  
"Indeed."  
  
The doors closed.  
  
* * *  
  
"Computer what is the time?" Regoso asked.  
  
"0911 hours," replied the newly uploaded voice of the computer. Over the past few years the voice of Starfleet computers had been undergoing changes. This was the one of the first ships with the new programming. It was only a minor difference than previous Starships. The voice was programmed with more inflections. People thought that the voices on Starfleet vessels were somewhat...... boring. It was finally agreed that the voice be changed to have more, attitude in a sense. Some said that it makes them feel more comfortable.  
  
"That leaves us with about twenty minutes," Sager said.  
  
The two officers had parted to visit their new quarters once they had left engineering. The Captain's quarters presided on Deck 2 while the first officer's quarters were on Deck 4. They had decided to meet in the Mess Hall when they were finished, which coincidentally was on Deck 3.  
  
Suddenly the turbolift doors opened to reveal the Mess Hall.  
  
"It's huge!" exclaimed Sager. "It must take up at least half of the deck!"  
  
They both looked around. The Commander was not exaggerating. It certainly was a little much for a crew of two hundred eighty seven.  
  
The clanging of pans filled the ears of the two officers.  
  
"Ow!" a voice yelled out in pain.  
  
Regoso and Sager followed the sound of the crash to what appeared to be a servery, further down the room on the right side.  
  
They could both hear the sound of someone mumbling to himself. Something about the organization of the pans.  
  
"Is somebody there?" asked Regoso.  
  
A head popped up from behind the servery, startling both men. Sager even jumped back.  
  
"Oh hello, you must be Captain Regoso."  
  
The man extended his hand and the Captain shook it accordingly.  
  
"My name is Melvik."  
  
"This is my first officer, Commander Sager."  
  
Once again Melvik extended his hand for Sager to shake. He did. Captain Regoso's first impression of Melvik was that he was a polite, enthusiastic individual. He wasn't wearing a Starfleet uniform, so Regoso assumed that Mr. Melvik was here voluntarily.  
  
"Melvik," started the Commander. "That doesn't sound like a Bolian name."  
  
Melvik nodded, then scratched his bald blue head. "Yes, well my great grandmother was Betazoid. She insisted that their children have Betazoid names, and I guess that decision was made by their children, and so on."  
  
"I see. So you do have some telepathic abilities?" Regoso asked curiously.  
  
Melvik shook his head, almost in shame. "Actually no. You would think that since I am one eighth Betazoid I would, but it seems that the Bolian brain is very sensitive when it comes to telepathy. The telepathic abilities were suppressed in my grandfather's brain. About a year ago though, I was informed that this condition of suppression skips a generation. My father acquired the telepathic abilities, with consequences that resulted in severe headaches. I on the other hand, have skills in other areas."  
  
Melvik continued to ramble, and Sager leaned over and whispered to Regoso. "Does this guy always talk this much?"  
  
Regoso ignored him and smiled politely.  
  
"---- such as writing, singing, and the skill I am most proud of: cooking. I took up cooking five years ago as an assistant chef on your home world in a bakery. Long story short, I ended up being a skilled pastry chef, also able to prepare hundreds of quality meals from around the quadrant."  
  
"Um, ok. Thank you Mr. Melvik. It's a pleasure to have you on board. Whenever I'm hungry, I'll know where to go."  
  
Melvik nodded and turned around to continue picking up the pans that had recently fallen.  
  
"I like him," Regoso stated as they headed for the turbolift. "He seems like such a nice man."  
  
"He seems to me like a real chatterbox."  
  
Regoso chuckled as the doors opened. "Give him a break Malcolm. I'm sure he's a great cook."  
  
The doors closed, and Regoso thought for a second. "Deck 1."  
  
The hum of the turbolift was the only sound that could be heard. Captain Regoso and Commander Sager were quiet for the whole ride.  
  
Soon the doors opened on Deck 1, the bridge. Slowly, Regoso stepped out of the turbolift, followed by his first officer.  
  
"The bridge of the U.S.S Trax. Amazing isn't it." Regoso said it with such pride.  
  
He started to walk around. There wasn't much to see. In fact, it was quite small, just the basics. There was a large panel on the back wall, with consoles on each side, one for operations, and one for tactical. On the designated section of the panel on the wall was the word 'Engineering' in big bold letters. This was where the engineering section could be controlled at times when the chief engineer was needed on the bridge.  
  
There was a small ramp on each side of room. Both men walked down the one nearest to them, continuing to look around.  
  
There were two smaller consoles at the end of the room, one for helm control, and the other specifically designed for the transwarp drive. The control of the transwarp drive couldn't be used along with normal propulsion systems. If there was a sudden power loss while the ship was travelling at transwarp, the transwarp console would immediately disengage transwarp, at no risk to the ship or crew. If the transwarp drive was controlled by normal power, then if the power loss were to happen at transwarp, then the drive would shut down without warning, and the quantum stress on the hull would be extreme. The console is run on backup power. So when there is a power loss, the backup system would kick in. The transwarp console would normally be unoccupied. When at transwarp though, the person at the helm would simply move to the transwarp console to control it.  
  
"There it is," Captain Regoso said.  
  
"What?" Sager was bending down looking at the transwarp console. Reading the technological specifications no doubt. He look up to see what the Captain was talking about.  
  
"The Captain's chair." Regoso walked over to the chair and sat down slowly, embracing the new feeling for the first time. I used to sit in the Captain's chair on my previous assignment when the Captain was away. But to have my own chair. Well..... it just feels different.  
  
"How so?"  
  
"I don't have to explain it to you Malcolm. You'll find out when you have your own starship.'  
  
Sager smiled. "I can't wait," he said sarcastically.  
  
It was silent for about a minute. Both of them just walked around the bridge, examining the different consoles and ship's functions. No one was on the bridge except them. Mostly everyone else was getting settled into their quarters.  
  
"Counsellor Phalen to the Captain," a female voice said from the Captain's com badge. It broke the silence in the room.  
  
Captain Regoso tapped his com badge. "Yes Counsellor."  
  
"We're ready for you hear in the cargo bay."  
  
"On my way."  
  
He walked toward the turbolift. "Come on Malcolm."  
  
The Commander ran to catch up with him. "Where are we going?"  
  
"Shuttle Bay Three. It's time to meet the crew."  
  
Once again they entered the turbolift, and headed for the shuttle bay.  
  
* * *  
  
"My god, that was the longest hour of my life," Regoso complained.  
  
"Actually sir, the ceremony was an hour and a half," Counsellor Tanya Phalen corrected.  
  
Tanya Phalen had also been one of Captain Regoso's friends for several years. They had met in 2453 when the Enterprise -G was investigating a murder on a planet in the Hexalon Sector. The Hexalons were a peaceful people who valued family over anything else. Then again, so do most species, especially Humans. But the Hexalons were a little...... excessive one might say. The Enterprise was sent to Hexalon II when someone murdered a woman. Through a series of events, the Enterprise discovered that it was in fact the husband of the victim, who was not a Hexalon, but a member of the Human colony that lived there with the Hexalon's permission. Tanya Phalen was a member of that colony, teaching control to some of the Hexalon's with telekinetic abilities. Phalen herself did not have telekinetic abilities, but was fully versed in the field of telekinesis because of the time she spent of Vulcan when she was an Ensign. Phalen met Lieutenant Commander Regoso during the investigation, and became good friends with him. It was by pure coincidence that she was posted on the Trax when Regoso was Captain. At least, that's what Regoso thought.  
  
"An hour and a half! That gave me quite a lot of time to make a complete ass of myself!  
  
"Come on Captain. It wasn't that bad." Phalen assured.  
  
Regoso sighed in dissatisfaction. "I was so nervous. I didn't even get the stardate right!"  
  
Counsellor Phalen smiled. "Other than that though, it was ----"  
  
"What about when I mispronounced Lieutenant Xelghactos's name," he interrupted. "Or that stupid joke I made about the colour of my uniform. It's just... what was I thinking?!" He grabbed his hair in anger.  
  
"At least it's over."  
  
"Oh no it's not. I'm going to have to spend months on this ship with this crew, maybe years. And they probably think that I'm a complete idiot."  
  
They entered the turbolift, and Phalen stated their destination to the computer. "Well, not a complete idiot."  
  
Soon the two officers stepped onto the bridge, except this time it was filled with people. There was an officer at every station, and Commander Sager was sitting in the first officer's chair.  
  
"Captain on the bridge," the man at the helm exclaimed.  
  
Everyone, including Sager, stood up and put their hand at their forward, showing respect.  
  
For the first time, Captain Regoso knew what it was like to be a captain. It wasn't just about commanding a starship, or having a captain's chair, it was about having a devoted crew, that respected him. "As you were."  
  
Everyone on the bridge went back to their duties, familiarizing themselves with their equipment before the ship left space dock.  
  
Captain Regoso walked over to his chair and sat down. Counsellor Phalen did the same in the seat to the right of him. Commander Sager was sitting in the seat to the left of him.  
  
"Captain, we're being hailed by Starfleet Command."  
  
"Put it on screen Mr. Xelghactos."  
  
Admiral Regoso suddenly appeared on the view screen. He almost instantly began his speech. "On April 4th, 2063 at 11:15 hours, Zefram Cochrane broke the warp barrier. Today, on April 4th, 2463 at 11:15 hours, we plan to break the transwarp barrier. Starfleet Command is ver proud of everyone of you, and you should all be proud that you are on this memorable ship. You will no doubt be part of another chapter in space exploration for the Human species."  
  
His voice could be heard on all forty-nine decks, by all two hundred eighty- nine crew members.  
  
"And now," continued the Admiral. "We have a special treat for you. Starfleet has done some digging, and we have found a recording of an important speech that was made in 2117 by a very important person at the newly built Warp 5 complex.."  
  
The Admiral turned around and pressed a few buttons behind him.  
  
Suddenly, the face of Zefram Cochrane filled the view screen. He spoke. "On this site, a powerful engine will be built. An engine that will someday help is to travel one hundred times faster than we can today. Imagine it: thousands of inhabited planets at our fingertips. And we'll be able to explore those strange new worlds, and seek out new life, and new civilizations. This engine, will let us go boldly, where no man has gone before."  
  
The Admiral was seen once again. "I think that says it all for itself. Everything that he predicted, eventually became reality. Everything except one. Now, we haven't exactly created an engine that will go one hundred times faster than they could three hundred fifty years ago. But we will do our best, to explore as much of the universe as we possibly can. At the present time, there is nothing left to stay. You know what our agenda is don't you Captain.?"  
  
Captain Regoso nodded.  
  
"Then there's nothing more to say now other than good luck."  
  
"Thank you Admiral," replied the Captain.  
  
"Safe journey son."  
  
The view screen was suddenly filled with stars in the distance, light years away.  
  
"It's beautiful," Counsellor Phalen said.  
  
The Captain looked at her, then looked at the view screen. "Mr. Xelghactos, initiate departing sequence."  
  
"Aye sir."  
  
The ship began to move slowly, detaching the docking ports connecting it with the space station. It was a slow procedure, but within a few minutes, the Trax was safely clear of the space station.  
  
"Bridge, this is Lieutenant Commander Jarik," said a voice over the com system. "All systems are functioning correctly Captain."  
  
"Thank you Mr. Jarik."  
  
"Confirmed, all systems are functioning within established parameters," the man standing behind the Operations console confirmed.  
  
"That's good Mr. Tabacoff." He looked over to his companion. "What do you think Malcolm."  
  
"I think we're ready."  
  
The Captain nodded, and looked at the helmsman. "Set a course Mr. Xelghactos. Bearing 326 mark 92 and prepare to go to warp,"  
  
The helmsman pressed a few buttons. "Course laid in sir."  
  
Captain Regoso looked out into the stars, curiosity gleaming in his eyes. "Engage!" 


End file.
